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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · fall · pitcher · rock · fork · spring · race · bass

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spring — a coil
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rock — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fork — in a road
  10. degree — from a university
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spring — of water
  14. bass — low music
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. spring — the season
  18. race — humankind
  19. fall — the season
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. rock — a stone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com